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The US Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off, on March 15, at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Discovery's flight is delivering the space station's fourth and final set of solar array wings, completing the station's truss, or backbone.

(AFP/Don Emmert)









Play Video WCCO Minneapolis  – Bat Clings To Space Shuttle

Bat Hung On For a Ride Into Space

A small bat that was spotted blasting off with the space shuttle Sunday and clinging to the back side of Discovery's external fuel tank apparently held on throughout the launch.

NASA hoped the bat would fly away before the spacecraft's Sunday evening liftoff, but photos from the launch now show the bat holding on for dear life throughout the fiery ride.  

"He did change the direction he was pointing from time to time throughout countdown but ultimately never flew away," states a NASA memo obtained by SPACE.com. "Infrared imagery shows he was alive and not frozen like many would think ... Liftoff imagery analysis confirmed that he held on until at least the vehicle cleared [the] tower before we lost sight of him."

Officials at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., where Discovery launched from a seaside pad, said the bat's outlook after launch appears grim.

"Based on images and video, a wildlife expert who provides support to the center said the small creature was a free tail bat that likely had a broken left wing and some problem with its right shoulder or wrist," NASA officials said Tuesday. "The animal likely perished quickly during Discovery's climb into orbit."

Because the Kennedy Space Center is also home to Florida's Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, NASA's launch pads are equipped with several countermeasures, including warning sirens, to ward off birds and other wildlife. NASA also relies on radar to make sure large flocks of birds won't be struck by the shuttle during liftoff.

But the bat on Discovery's tank did not budge, even after engine ignition.

The bat was perched between one quarter and one third of the way up on the north side of the fuel tank, which is the side that faces away from the orbiter. NASA estimated the surface temperature of the tank at that location was between 58 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, even though the canister was filled with super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.

In the hours before Discovery's liftoff, NASA's Final Inspection Team (called the "ICE team") investigated whether the creature would pose a risk to the shuttle if its body impacted the orbiter's sensitive heat shield tiling. Ultimately, NASA officials signed a waiver confirming that the bat was safe to fly with.

"The bat eventually became 'Interim Problem Report 119V-0080' after the ICE team finished their walkdown," the memo said. "Systems Engineering and Integration performed a debris analysis on him and ultimately a Launch Commit Criteria waiver to ICE-01 was written to accept the stowaway."

This isn't the first time a bat has attempted to travel into space. Another bat was seen clinging to the side of the external tank attached to the shuttle Endeavour on its  STS-72 flight in 1996. That one maybe have been a bit more cautious, though: It flew away to safety right before launch.

Coincidentally, an astronaut aboard that flight, Koichi Wakata of Japan, also flew on Discovery this week, making him the first spaceflyer to share two rides with bats. Discovery's STS-119 mission is headed to the International Space Station to drop off the final segment of the lab's backbone truss and set of solar array panels.

NASA officials said a bat also set down on the external tank for the shuttle Columbia during its STS-90 mission in 1998. That bat also flitted away to safety during liftoff, they added.

Mon Mar 16, 2:32 AM ET

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Article: HERE

Pictured: Brian the stowaway bat who hitched a 17,500mph, one-way ride into outer space on the shuttle Discovery
19th March 2009

What Brian the bat's thoughts were when he settled on the space shuttle Discovery will never be known but it is probably safe to assume that being blasted into space at 17,500mph was not among them.

The free-tailed bat stowaway had latched himself onto the shuttle's external fuel tank several hours before countdown.

Every now and then he shifted position.

Nasa officials making a final inspection before take-off at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida had hoped it would wake up and fly away before the engines ignited.

But he didn't and was seen still attached to mission STS-119 as it cleared the tower and accelerated to 17,500mph in eight minutes.

Exactly what happened to him is unclear but it is a fair assumption that he was vaporised during the climb into orbit.

'We're characterizing him as unexpected debris and he's probably still unexpected debris somewhere,' said launch director Mike Leinbach after the take-off.

The loss of Brian has been mourned by internet fans on Twitter, who came up with the name.








                                            

A wildlife expert said it was likely the tiny creature had a broken left wing and some problem with its right shoulder or wrist which may explain why he landed there.

It is not the first time a bat has landed on a shuttle during a countdown. In 1998 one landed on the shuttle Columbia.

But on that occasion the creature flew off at the first smell of smoke.

The space shuttle blasted off on Sunday night with seven astronauts who made the journey safely, docking with the International Space Station and greeting the three astronauts there with mid-air handshakes.

'We've been waiting for you guys for a while,' station commander Mike Fincke said. 'Welcome aboard.'

After a two-day journey to catch up to the station, commander Lee Archambault slipped Discovery into a berth, as the two ships soared 220 miles over western Australia.

About two hours later, the Discovery astronauts floated through a connecting tunnel.

The shuttle crew includes two-time space flier Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Mr Wakata will be taking over as a space station flight engineer from Nasa's Sandra

Magnus, who has been in orbit since November and is due to ride back to Earth aboard Discovery.

The shuttle was delayed by a month because of problems with a leaky hydrogen engine valve.

The Discovery mission was shortened by one day to make way for a Russian Soyuz capsule that arrives next week with replacements for Mr Fincke and flight engineer Yury Lonchakov.

               
                                                 

 

Brian the bat can be seen as a small speck on the shuttle and is also caught on infra-red cameras

A free-tailed bat in a more natural habitat

Topping the crews' to-do list is the installation of a £215million, 16-tonne metal girder that contains the last pair of the station's solar power wing panels.

Once they are installed, the station should be able to generate 124 kilowatts of electricity - about enough to power 42 average homes.

The shuttle also carries a new distiller for the station's urine recycler, which is designed to provide water for the crew and is a key component for supporting an expanded six-person team.

Three people now live on board full-time, but officials plan to double that number as early as May.

The first of three spacewalks to hook up the new solar wing panels and get the station ready for an expanded crew is scheduled for Thursday.

Astronaut Koichi Wakata, centre, is greeted by Yury Lonchakov, left, and Sandra Magnus. In the background are station commander Mike Fincke, right, and shuttle commander Lee Archambault

Initial inspections of the shuttle have revealed no obvious launch damage.

This has been an ongoing concern since a piece of falling debris hit shuttle Columbia during launch in 2003, breaching its heat shield and triggering its destruction 16 days later as it flew toward Florida for landing.

Seven astronauts died in the accident.

The shuttle is due back at the Kennedy Space Centre on March 28.

The Space Shuttle Discovery is shown docked to the International Space Station with Earth in the background



















Article: HERE